movies prove TV is best
Shit. I’ve barely been in LA a week and I’m already on my third US-related post.
Whatevs…
I was walking past a hunormous poster for Guardians of the Galaxy this morning…
…when it occurred to me, for the umpteenth time, that these things must cost a lot of money to make, then even more money to own the poster site for a few weeks. I continued to wonder how that price, for a single site in a single city in a country of 320m people, balances out with the potential income for that movie.
Then, as luck would have it, my musings were answered a few hours later with a handy article from the Hollywood Reporter.
For those of you too busy to read it, the gist is that marketing costs for a big Hollywood movie are pushing $100m in the US, and another $100m for the rest of the world.
That seems crazy, particularly as the movie itself is unlikely to cost that much. It also seems crazy because ‘in 1980, the average cost of marketing a studio movie in the U.S. was $4.3 million ($12.4 million in today’s dollars). By 2007, it had shot up to nearly $36 million. If the MPAA still tracked spending on Prints & Advertising, that number would be north of $40 million today for medium-size films like The Fault in Our Stars or Tammy.’
So WTF?
Well, apparently the main culprit for this is the cost of TV advertising, which has risen enormously in recent years. But, you might ask, with so many more reasonably-priced and better-targeted media choices out there, why not use the other methods and save a few bob?
Interesting question. According to the article and the stats, only TV has the massive reach that these mass-market behemoths need. So far from being dead in any way, TV is the medium the tight, tight bastards of Hollywood will pour hundreds of millions into because no other channel can blast out a gigantic message like it..
If that’s contrary to anything you’ve heard over the last few years, then drink in this delicious proof that TV is the biggest and best medium to communicate a message. If you can afford it, and your target is wide enough to justify it, there is literally no website, social media whatsit or DM thingie that can compete.
Think the “TV is dead,” meme is dead. Or should be. It’s not the end-all-be-all, but it has its purposes. “The right tool for the right job” and sometimes you need a sledgehammer.
As for the billboard, that’s pure LA. Nowhere else, not even New York, has big fuck-all movie billboards like that. Think because, in LA, getting people into seats is only half the job. The other half is ego-stroke. It lets all the resident studios, execs and stars involved pump their fist at each other over the phone Nothing proves your worth like a giant billboard. It’s a sensitive town, you know.
Yes, we can all watch the willy-waving contests as we drive down the street.
Ben, excellent use of the word ‘bob’.
(As opposed to ‘bucks’)
TV is the best, no question. Can’t remember the last time I watched it though.
Hey Ben – so how’s the Offence looking at Arsenal this season?
(Just making sure you feel right at home…).
I’ll bet those giant poster sites have a whole different ‘Hollywood’ rate card – it’s only the studios that have messages that big and that dumb to fill them. Maybe they’re not actually as expensive as you might think….
Au contraire, Monsieur Gash:
http://www.dailybillboardblog.com/2014/06/jessica-alba-zico-coconut-water-crack.html
You got me.
Have you got a new goal-minder though?
For sure.
Defensive goal-tender David Ospina will be starting 0 for 0 in his first season for the London Red Giants.
if you want to have a fast impact in this enormous country, TV/cable/Hulu etc is still resoundingly the way to go. the TV networks have, very thoughtfully, gathered the audience for you. it’s like magic!